"Dishonored" mixes the best elements of the parkour of “Assassin’s Creed” and the stealth combat of “Splinter Cell” and adds a host of interesting mystical abilities.

Courtesy of Bethesda Softworks

By Brian Bowers and Sam Laney

Stars and Stripes

Published: December 29, 2012

The choices you make determine the fate of a plague-torn world in “Dishonored.” Improvise and innovate to craft your own style.

Courtesy of Bethesda Softworks

The past year has brought a bounty of terrific sequels, but it was a new name that turned out to be the best of the bunch.

The “Halo,” “Call of Duty,” “Mass Effect,” “Assassin’s Creed” and “Far Cry” series all came up with games that were exceptionally good — even by the high standards set by many of their predecessors. However, the game that delivered the best combination of gameplay, story and adventure was “Dishonored,” by Bethesda Softworks.

The holiday season is a bittersweet time to be a gamer — and especially a game reviewer. Stars and Stripes gamers had their hands full with all of the AAA goodness we expect for this time of year, but no matter how much holiday cheer you can muster, there’s never enough time to play it all.

First up is “PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale,” a game so addictively good that it just “wouldn’t let go.” This Smash Bros.-style game got extra credit for its extensive cast of Sony favorites and special moves.

About the Authors

Brian Bowers is Stars and Stripes’ Assistant Managing Editor for Europe and Mideast and one of its video game
reviewers. He joined the newspaper in 1992 in Germany, where he worked on the
news desk and the city desk. He has a wife and three children, who are always
eager to help him test games.

Sam Laney joined Stars and Stripes in 2007 as a copy/layout editor and slowly convinced upper management to support his video game habit. Since then, he’s added game reviews and previews to his list of duties and moved on to the iPad. When he’s not rocking newbies in “Left4Dead2,” he covers PC and Nintendo systems.

Michael S. Darnell joined Stars and Stripes in 2013 as a reporter and quickly annoyed his bosses into allowing him to write about video games in his spare time. He's a PC gamer at heart whose life goals include building the first gaming PC on Mars.